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Well, last week’s attempt at faux letterpress went ok, not the best results, but still usable. I am wanting to try letterpress again, but I’m waiting for some new ink to arrive! In the mean time, I used last week’s faux letterpress panels to make two cards.

This first card used the soft mint green ink panel that wasn’t inked very well.

I wrapped some bakers twine around the panel and tied a bow. I then layered several flower die cuts, gently curling the petals, and secured it with an epoxy brad. I attached it to the panel with glue dots. I used my Martha Stewart butterfly punch on some glitter paper and glued those onto the card, bending the wings up for interest. I secured the panel to a card base using a generous amount of pop dots. The embossed panel can be a bit warped and twisted, so using a bunch of adhesive was good to make it lay flat. The soft minty green compliments the muted teal in these papers from Teresa Collins.

The next card is made from pieces of two panels. These panels didn’t come out well on one end, so I cut parts from the good end to make smaller bits to use.

I attached the panels with Crafty Power Tape to the top and bottom of the blue card front. I heat embossed a sentiment in gold embossing powder in the center. The card still needed a little something, so I took two wood veneer hearts by Freckled Fawn and embossed those in the same gold powder. To heat emboss the hearts, I pressed them into an embossing ink pad, then dipped them into the embossing powder. I used tweezers to make it easier, and to hold them while I heat embossed. I then attached them to the bottom embossed panel with glossy accents. I then attached the blue card front to a blank card base.

Two quick and easy cards from the faux letterpress experiment from last week! Even if something doesn’t turn out exactly how you thought, it can still be used beautifully! I’m glad I tried this technique, and can’t wait to try it again!

Don’t forget to make time to be creative this week! Join in our Monday Challenge and use wood veneers on your project and link up your blog! I can’t wait to see what you create!

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It’s the start of the second week, now, and I hope that last week’s posts inspired you to make some craftiness of your own!

We only had one link up last week, but I know this is a new challenge series. I hope that more people are able to join in this week! Before I share the new challenge, let’s see the submission we had for the last link up.

This is Monica’s card. I adore those teal butterflies! They give just the right pop of color and I just love them! Thanks for joining in, Monica! Monica has a new blog started, and I hope we’ll see more of her beautiful creations again soon!

Ok, I know you’re wanting to know this week’s challenge……and it’s EMBOSSING! I think embossing is so cool! It’s so easy to do, but has a huge wow factor! To enter this week, you need to make a card, layout, or any project that has embossing on it. (mixed media would be awesome with some embossing!) It can be either wet embossing, dry embossing, or both!

Here’s an easy card that has both types of embossing on it:

I dry embossed the bottom portion of the card by selectively using an embossing folder in my big shot. I figured out where I wanted the silver glitter tape, then tried to emboss a phrase above that. I forgot to use a powder tool to eliminate the static, and ended up with a less than desirable result. boo! I then cut off the top portion, and spliced on a new piece of cardstock to make it the original size I started with. The glitter tape covers the seam. (the photo shows the seam, but it must have caught the light just right – it’s not noticeable in person.)

I then covered a piece of raw chipboard with embossing ink and used white embossing powder to cover it. This gave me a shiny white element that was perfect for adding my greeting. I added a few silver stars that matched the greeting, and mounted it all onto the card base. The above photo shows all the dimension in the dry embossing, too!

Of course, Sam is joining me again this week on the challenge! She’s awesome! 😉 Go visit her blog to see her creation!

Here’s how the challenge works: Create a NEW project with EMBOSSING and link your blog post below. Take some time out of your week and be crafty! I can’t wait to see what you make!

(I will be making some changes to the blog soon to allow the thumbnails to be listed at the bottom of the post. Please click through to go to the linky page.)

Challenge Rules:
*If it’s a color challenge, be sure to feature the colors in the challenge, additional colors may be added as accents.
*Limit of 3 projects linked per challenge. Each submission must have a unique link. Do not upload multiple submissions with the same link.
*Only link new projects.
*Please provide a link back to the challenge on your blog post.
*We reserve the right to remove any posting that does not meet this criteria.

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Fridays are going to be my photo sharing days. I hope to share a photo with you and the layout I made, or the card that was inspired by the colors in the photo.

Here’s the photo that I used to inspire the colors chosen for my card. (I ran out of time to finish my layout, so I whipped up a card from another photo, instead! I’ve been cleaning/reorganizing my scrap space. It was all kinds of crazy since we moved back home after some major renovations to the house.)

I took this photo while our family was waiting in line at the Fair. This was the first year we went, and we all had a blast! You could purchase tickets for ride admission, or you could pay one flat fee, and get a bracelet that let you ride everything. We all got the bracelets, and it was nice to not worry about how much each ride cost. These signs were posted at every ride with the ticket requirements and height restrictions. There were 3-4 different characters that were on various signs. This little dude cracked me up. He appears shocked to find that this ride costs three whole tickets! I giggled every time I saw him. (maybe you had to be there….or we can just accept the fact that I’m weird!)

I took a photo because I thought it was funny, but I also realize I’m probably not going to be scrapping that photo. The colors at the fair were so vibrant and happy. I’m pretty sure all fairs are that way! Since this photo won’t be in my scrapbook, let’s use it in another way – as inspiration. I loved the dark pink, rich blue and touch of yellow. Here’s what I created:

The Maggie Holmes for Crate Paper collection had the right mix of saturated, happy colors. I used several pieces from my 6×6 inch pad. The floral pattern had all three colors and the deep denim blue gave visual weight to the bottom of the card. I rounded the top corners of the floral pattern and inked it in blue to help define the edge. Pink enamel dots gave a punch of color to those top corners and two pink bands covered the seam.

For the greeting, I used a PinkPaislee clear stamp from their Portfolio collection. I stamped it onto some patterned paper and clear embossed the image. Then I used Faded Jeans Distress Ink to darken the negative space to make the greeting stand out. After fussy cutting the image, I used pop dots to adhere it to the card. To finish it off, I rounded the top corners of the card base, and added some faux stitching to the pink strips behind the greeting.

That wraps up today’s creative share. Next Friday I’ll share another photo, and the layout using that picture. Be sure to stop by Sam’s blog to see what cuties are showing up in her photos!

There’s still time to make a window card and link it to Monday’s Challenge! If you haven’t had a moment, try to find a small bit of time that you can use to be creative and recharge! Have a great weekend, see you on Monday!

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Wednesdays will be a grab-bag of randomness. It may be a tutorial….a video….a creative share…crazy ramblings…. It could be anything. It’s going to be my Whatever Wednesday post! 🙂

One of the things I really want to do more of this year, is card making. I love homemade cards. There are so many elegant, fun, quirky, and, well, WHATEVER kind of card you need! I’ve been pinning on Pinterest like crazy tons of beautiful cards. (you can follow me on Pinterest by clicking this link.) I’ve been challenging myself to make more cards these past few months, as I’ve had creative time, and I wanted to share some of them with you today.

The first card I’m sharing is one I love for the simplicity of the design.

The charcoal shimmery cardstock, wood veneers, and silver twine under the label made the card come together very quickly, but elegantly.

The next two cards use a file I created on my silhouette. I have seen an owl punch that people used to create all sorts of animals and creatures by simply manipulating how/where the pieces were glued down. I looked for a similar basic outline, and traced the free clip art shape. It was a bit tedious to make all the smaller parts and figure out what I wanted to weld to it or alter to make it unique to me.

This card shows the owl put together as he’s designed. Cute, easy, and fast!

This variation shows that by welding some of the shapes together, resizing some elements, and moving around parts – you can come up with a completely different look! I also wanted to have some fun on the inside….

I made three more adorable aliens and made a pop up card. I think my favorite alien is the purple spotted one!

With trying to make more cards, I found a blog that issued weekly card challenges to help inspire me and push me to carve out some creative time each month. I started joining the challenges at the end of October. I was able to get one of my cards submitted, but the rest of the cards I made when I followed along, never were uploaded in time. We were going through some major renovations at our house and were displaced into a hotel, so it was a bit crazy for a while as we moved back home and unpacked. The blog took a break for the Thanksgiving holidays, and it ended up closing down at the end of November. 😦 (and if you’re friends with me on FaceBook, some of these may look familiar.)

One of the challenges was to make a poinsettia card. I cut a bunch of poinsettia flowers and some leaves out of some white cardstock. I started playing with some supplies that I had allowed to gather dust for far too long…. Here’s my poinsettia card.

I’m very pleased with how it looks! Such a rich looking flower and with the right touches of gold. The little yellow sequins made the perfect center for the flower.

I had some left over flowers, so I started inking and playing.

A 3×4 cut apart sheet card and a die-cut that was cut down gave a perfect landing spot for this pink flower. I don’t even see that it’s a poinsettia because the coloring and theme are so different, but it’s the very same cut on my silhouette!

Some ink drops and spray….inking petals and layering them together….and a sprinkling of sequins and tiny punched hearts.

The next issued challenge that was to create a card with Fall/Autumn colors. (I think that’s how the challenge was worded)

I’ve had these gold leaves in my stash, but hadn’t used them, so I really wanted to break them out and get one used. I love how it came together. Here’s a secret – the die-cut in the background had words that didn’t go along with the theme, and was a smidge too long for the card front. The shape and coloring of the edge was just what I wanted. So, I got a bit creative… I cut it in two and put the cut edges hidden behind the leaf. When you first see the card you probably didn’t notice that the “center” of the die-cut is off center. 😉 The banner also helped hide the unwanted text on the die-cut. It’s about adapting what you have to make it work for you.

The next three cards use the WeRMemoryKeepers Storytime papers.

This card uses a large ornate sticker from my stash that coordinated beautifully with the paper’s colors. Some sequins gave it a bit of shine.

This card also uses some stickers and a piece of chipboard from my stash. Again, the colors are just beautiful in this collection, and I also love the weight of their papers.

The last card I made with these papers would be great for an anniversary card. “…and they lived happily ever after. THE END” The greeting is actually cut out from a 6×6 patterned block on the B side of one of their papers.

This last card I want to share with you was just me playing around with some pretty colors, and using border strips to make some pennants as a backdrop.

Using a border punch on the front edge gives a peek to a strip of coordinating paper inside. A lovely detail.

Whew! That was 11 cards! I’m so glad you stopped by today. If there is any technique or product that you’d like to learn more about, leave me a comment and I’ll put it on my schedule to cover on a future Whatever Wednesday. You’ve still got lots of time to link up to Monday’s Challenge. Take some time to be creative this week!

P.S. Be sure to stop in on Sam’s blog to see her recent crafty haul and find out where she finds bargains!

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I know I teased about lots of new things coming to the blog this year. The first thing will be a weekly challenge that you can link your blog with a thumbnail. You already know that you can expect new content every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Be sure to come back on Wednesday to see what I’ll be doing!

Here’s how the challenges will work: Each Monday, at 8am, I’ll post a new challenge. You have one week to make something – that’s the theme – MAKE SOMETHING – take time to be creative each week! You can link your projects below. You’ll have until Sunday at midnight to submit your link. Then on Monday, I’ll pick my favorite project and feature it on my blog and issue a new challenge.

Our first challenge is…make a WINDOW CARD!

Have a design on the inside that is visible when the card is closed.

Here are two examples of cards I’ve made using this technique.

This first card, I used a circle cutter to cut the front panel and the colored cardstock. I used some American Crafts die-cuts from an Amy Tangerine line. This made the card come together super fast! Both the die-cuts are on pop dots for some depth. Some quick pen lines similar to the design of the die-cuts and some tone on tone sequin action completed the card. I really like the sequins on this one! They give the perfect amount of shine and interest without overpowering and taking the attention from the die-cuts.

When the card is opened, you still see the greeting and have plenty of room to jot a short note.

The next card I want to share with you is too stinkin’ cute! I really love how it turned out!

This one is a square card and I used a circle punch to get the circles in all the layers. The card is made from scraps that were destined for the garbage, but I loved the colors and patterns, so I put them to use to make this card. I think it would be a great birthday card for anyone!

As you open the card, you see a flash of the inside scalloped frame around the stamped bird.

And here is the inside. I have to admit, that little birdie gave me a couple of fits. The first stamping didn’t take dark enough, so I used a pen to trace it but I didn’t like how it was looking. So, then I stamped it onto another piece and cut around it and used the scalloped frame to hide the patchwork. (the inside frame was not in my original design idea) I started coloring the bird using my Faber-Castell Big Brush Pens and a paintbrush and water to use like a watercolor. I was loving how the bird was turning out!! Then I painted the beak. And it went wrong…My hand shook JUST as I touched the brush down and my adorable birdie now had an orange blob for a nose. DRAT! Well, I had patched it once…..now what? I stamped the bird once again onto another piece of paper and painted the beak FIRST, then painted the turquoise, and fussy cut him out to put him in the card. WHEW! I love the final result!!

My friend, Sam Pirkle, is joining me on the challenges to give you even MORE inspiration! You can find her blog HERE. She has all the details posted over there on how she made this awesome card!

Now, how can you get in on this challenge? Make a window card and link it below. Make sure you have an element on the inside that is visible when the card is closed. Next Monday, I’ll pick a favorite and highlight it on my blog when I issue the new challenge. It’s that easy! Now, go make something! Get creative this week!

Challenge Rules:
*If it’s a color challenge, make sure you feature the colors in the challenge, additional colors may be added as accents.
*Limit of 3 projects linked per challenge. Each submission must have a unique link. Do not upload multiple submissions with the same link.
*Only link new projects.
*Please provide a link back to the challenge on your blog post.
*We reserve the right to remove any posting that does not meet this criteria.

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I’ve been wanting to enter some challenges on some scrap blogs, and I’ve also wanted to make more cards. I jumped in and made this card for the challenge over at The Perfect Sentiment (PSC96). The challenge was to create a thank you card with a simple design and include the sentiment on the front of the card. Here is my take on the challenge:

I used a piece of white cardstock as my base and rounded two corners. I added some blue ink to the edges and stamped my sentiment. I then added two diecuts from a coordinated pack of embellishments. I added pop dots to one end of the banner to give it some depth. Then I added a sprinkling of some sequins for a bit of sparkle. This card came together really quickly and I love the festive feel!

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Sometimes the simplest techniques give the most beautiful results. Every time. Embossed resist inking is like that for me. I love to see the image appear as I’m inking the embossed image. It always makes me smile. If you’ve not tried this technique, I encourage you to do so – it’s very satisfying to see the image pop up and look so crisp and pretty. And yet, the technique is so easily done!

For this card, I used some Design Adhesives by Clearsnap. This is a double sided adhesive that comes in many patterns or designs. The design I’m using today is Branches & Blooms. Each package comes with 4 sheets of the adhesive – enough to use on several projects. The adhesive can be used with double sided foil, glitters, embossing powders, flocking, or just about any other material you might think of! (One day I want to try it with some multi-colored foiling flakes.) Today, I’m using embossing powder to share with you this technique.

I started with a sheet of white cardstock and I actually cut apart two of the design sheets and layered on the pieces to get the final shape I wanted. You can see the blue-ish adhesive design here:

You can also see how I was able to cut apart the image – these were the bits I did not use. I’m saving them for another project.

Then I poured on some white embossing powder. I was sure to use detail embossing powder to capture all the fine details in the design. I used a dry paint brush to brush away any stray powder before I applied heat to the design.

After heating the design with my heat gun, it virtually disappears into the white cardstock background. If the light hits it you can see how it is glossy, but it is hard to see.

Next I cut the cardstock down to fit the front of the card I was making. I selected three colors of Mix’d Media Inx – Honey, Denim, and Peridot to color in the background and make the embossed image pop out like magic!

Using the ColorBox stylus tool and blending tips is the easiest way to apply these juicy inks and get a soft background. (see – you can barely see the embossed image on that piece of cardstock! Stay tuned – it’ll show up soon!)

First, I used the Honey Mix’d Media Inx to go around the edge, buffing the color all the way around, to give some shading to the edge. (I had Truffle on standby in case I needed a darker edge later…)

You can see a bit of the image starting to appear in that top left corner!

Then I switched to the Peridot Inx to bring color to the center of the image.

WOW! Do you see how that embossed design popped out there? Isn’t it fabulous? I continued blending and buffing the colors to create the soft look I wanted. (originally I had planned on using some Denim Mix’d Media Inx to give more depth, but I was really enjoying the soft glow of the Peridot and Honey working together, so I set the Denim back and didn’t end up using it.)

Next I added a mat of a cinnamon colored cardstock to add a thin frame to the piece. I also heat embossed a simple greeting to the card. (in hindsight I could have embossed that image at the beginning when I embossed the design, but this worked just as well)

It still seemed to be missing some finishing touch, so I removed it from the card and ran it through my sewing machine to give some detail and texture to the edge.

Here is my finished card:

This card came together so quickly! I think this technique is lots of fun and gives such a sophisticated result! This technique can be adapted to so many cards or projects – any color of ink, any design of stamp or design adhesive – the possibilities are limitless! I hope this tutorial inspires you to try this technique!